Life is challenge, We suffer from
heartbreak, pain, calamity which drive us to depression, anxiety and stress.
Allah Almighty revealed the Quran as guide for us to help us through our
depression worries or anxieties. Some surahs are valuable to read during this
time as they alleviate all these depression
Surah Duha is an optimism during
times of difficulty. It inspires hope and optimism in the heart of the reader
during difficult times. It is among the
earliest Surahs that were revealed and were sent to comfort the Prophet (peace
be upon him) as he began his difficult mission. The early days of Islam were a
difficult time to preach the message. The number of believers was less than a
hundred, and the prophet peace be upon him Himself went through a lot of
hardship that he had to face with calmness
The background to this chapter is that the revelation had paused
for a while in the early period of prophethood in Makkah. This incident was
hard on the prophet (Pbuh), and the leaders of Quraysh said that his Lord had
abandoned him and hated him. The Prophet (Pbuh)
was in a very disturbed state of mind, feeling negative and depressed and
believing that Allah was displeased with him, had forgotten him, and did not
want him to be a prophet.
We encounter similar feelings in our lives due to
the whisper of shaytan.there is Times when our level of imaan is low, our khushoo in salah wavers and we
feel a drop in our connection with Allah? We feel like our duas are not being
answered, our salah is not having a positive impact on our hearts, and
worst of all the feeling that we’re horrible human beings, that Allah doesn’t
love us or doesn’t care about us anymore.
As a response to this situation, Allah subahanah wata’ala revealed
this surah to comfort His Messenger (Pbuh) and rebuke the polytheists of Makkah.
the Prophet peace upon him was saddened by the interruption of
revelation while knowing full well that he ﷺ will encounter hardship and difficulty for
the sake of carrying the message of Islam.
Allah already told him in surah Mmuzammil that we are going to send
to you heavy message. the revelation was a test for the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. Will he ﷺ be eager
for this new message for whose sake he ﷺ will have to leave his leisure and
encounter difficulties and hardship, or will it be a sigh of relief when his ﷺ Lord
relieves him of this vital mission and responsibility? In this is a valuable
lesson for those who the carry the message of Islam, that they should be
concerned for the call of Islam and be willing and ready to endure harm and
hardship for its cause.
Sūrah ad-Ḍuḥā is a message of hope
and optimism about the future. Allah begins the Sūrah by taking an oath on the
dawn and the night. Just like the dawn brings light after a dark night,
likewise the revelation brings hope to mankind after the darkness of ignorance.
This oath creates a powerful image of Islam lighting up the horizon as the age
of ignorance draws to a close.
وَالضُّحَى وَاللَّيْلِ
إِذَا سَجَى
“By the Glorious Morning Light," means the beginning
hours of the day when the sun rises high in the sky and it brightens up
everywhere.
2. “And by the Night when it is still: means 'to be
quiet, tranquil'; and it has also been used with the meaning of 'to cover, to
darken' but, here it confers the meaning of 'quietness' and 'tranquility',
This aayah reminds us to
use the night as a comfort to ease our distress.
Therefore, الضُّحَىٰ
which is the light of revelation was brought first (taqdīm), before ‘the night when it is still’ which
is the period of interruption of revelation and its calmness. It was claimed
that this oath points to the interruption for relaxing and resting, similar to
the one who is tired and relaxes during the night.
مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ
وَمَا قَلَى
“Your Lord has neither forsaken you nor has He
become displeased.”
This verse is a direct
refutation to the critics and enemies who were harassing the Prophet (peace be
upon him).
In Arabic al-Widdaa’ means to say
goodbye but at-Tawddee’ means to say a final farewell when one does not intend
to return,
is an expression
of the Allah’s love of the messenger (saw) as this is not the type of farewell
used when enemies say goodbye to each other but rather it is the type of
farewell between people who love each other like family.
RABB:This is
because Ar-Rabb is
the caretaker, the guide, the owner and master. If this is the case, then how
can Ar-Rabb abandon
and hate you while you are His ﷻ servant and He ﷻ is your master and protector who has taken you out of the
darkness to the light of the revelation?
Qallaa in Arabic is
when you are so unhappy with someone that as a result you abandon all
communication with them.
This is a very powerful
verse from Allah telling us that He doesn’t hate us and hasn’t forgotten us– reminding
the depressed person that He is always by his or her side!
One should have good
thinking of Allah husnu than (positive thought about Allah). The prophet peace be
upon him said that Allah Almighty says:
”أَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنِّ عَبْدِي بِي ، إِنْ
ظَنَّ خَيْرًا فَلَهُ ، وَإِنْ ظَنَّ شَرًّا فَلَهُ“
“I am as My servant expects of Me, so if
he thinks good of Me then he will have it, and if he thinks evil of Me then he
will have it.”
It is said that a sign
of Allah’s love for His slave is how often He tests his faith.
Our Prophet (PBUH) also says that if Allah loves a group of people,
He shall test their faith with trials.
“إِنَّ اللَّهَ إِذَا أَحَبَّ قَوْمًا ابْتَلاَهُمْ”
Allah (SWT) says in Surat Al-Baqara: It is possible you may dislike
something which is good for you, and that you love a thing which is bad for
you, yet Allah knows, and you know not.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
says: “Pray to Allah, certain of his positive response” –
ادْعوا الله وأنتم
مُوقنون بالإِجابة
وَلَلْآخِرَةُ
خَيْرٌ لَّكَ مِنَ الْأُولَى
“And surely the hereafter will be better for you
than the present (life).”
Many times when
we’re depressed we think: Is this all my life is going to be? Is it never going to get
better?
This aayah serves
as a perfect answer to those questions, reminding us that life in this world is
temporary and that Aakhira is certainly a better, more permanent
place for us than this world could ever be.
This makes us
look forward to attaining our place in Jannah and helps us look at any problems
in our lives as temporary tests of our faith from Allah.
وَلَسَوْفَ
يُعْطِيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرْضَى
“And soon your lord will grant you, and you shall
be well-pleased.”
That is, in this world
he will win over his enemies and Islam will spread all over the world, and in
the Next World, he will be granted the greatest rewards.
Allah (swt) giving him
the intercession of this ummah and Allah (swt) will accept the plea of his
messenger (saw) until the messenger (saw) is satisfied (tardda)
أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ
يَتِيمًا فَآوَى
"Did He not find you an orphan and sheltered (you)?"
وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَى
"And
He found you lost and guided [you]."
وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا فَأَغْنَى
"And
He found you poor and made [you] self-sufficient."
The prophet peace be
upon him was an orphan, but Allah blessed him with an amazing family. He was
born into poverty but Allah provided for him and made him content. He was
searching for a way to reform his society and Allah blessed him with
prophethood.
the next verses command the Prophet (S) with three important
instructions. Although they are directly addressing Muhammad (S), they are
surely applied to everyone.
At first, it says:
فَأَمَّا
الْيَتِيمَ فَلَا تَقْهَرْ
So as for the orphan, do not
oppress [him].: It seems as if
Allah is telling the Prophet (S) that 'you, yourself, have been an orphan and
suffered from the pain of orphanhood. Now, be careful of the orphans with all
your heart and treat them with tender affection and respect, and quench their
thirsty souls with kindness'.
This aayah is the
ultimate antidote to depression!
Depressed
people are mostly consumed with their situation and feel that nobody could
possibly be in a worse situation.
This aayah reminds
us to look at people who are in far worse situations than ourselves when we’re
feeling hopeless and depressed— Look at the orphans, who have no family or
loved ones and nobody to care for them. We have families and parents who love
us, a roof over our heads and food on the table and we still think
we’re in a bad situation? Subhanallah!
وَأَمَّا السَّائِلَ فَلَا تَنْهَرْ
“And for the one who asks, repulse not",
Those who are poor in both knowledge and finances.
Allah orders Muhammad (S) to respond positively to those who make a request of
any type. This idea is fitting both with divine guidance to the Prophet (S) and
sheltering him when he was an orphan.
وَأَمَّا بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ فَحَدِّثْ
“And ask for the Bounties, of your Lord, do
proclaim (it)”
Announcing the bounties is sometimes done by
statements, containing thankfulness and gratitude and that is far from pride
and haughtiness, and sometimes by action through donation and charity from
those bounties, on the path of Allah, in a way that shows He has given him much
Bounty.
here means only spiritual bounties, such as,
prophethood and the Holy Qur'an which the Prophet (S) was called to announce
and spread
by pondering, glorifying and talking about the
blessings of Allah! Either in terms of halaqas, discussions with family and
friends or even da’wah! Dhikr, reading quran and listening to lectures are also
great ways to keep the remembrance of Allah close to your heart!
Sūrah ad-Ḍuḥā ends with a call to action. The way to show
gratitude to Allah for His Blessings is to share it with others. So Allah calls
on us to give to the poor, assist the orphans and spread the message of Islam.
These relate back to the three blessings mentioned earlier in the Sūrah. Allah
has blessed us with wealth, so let us use it to uplift the poor. Allah has
blessed us with family, so let us not forget to help the orphans. Allah has
guided us to the straight path, so let’s share the message of Islam with the
world.
